plant lighting.....

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rider6

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
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106
So I plan on upgrading my current topfin kit lights to an aftermarket light...now my question is do I do one perside...(topfin 55gal long w/suport beam) or can I just gt the one that goes the whole distance of my tank... will the lighting be the same? Or am I just overthinking this? And is there a special glass hood I should go wiith? Glass is glass right? It all defuses the light the same does it not? Thanks ahead of time, just making sure I get the right stuff since its fairly expensive...
 
Are you doing a planted tank? Just wondering as I would suggest a T5HO 2 bulb fixture. That is what I run on my 2 55g planted tanks. And it would be 1 fixture... your tanks a 4 foot long one right? Plus you don't have to use a glass lid with these fixtures. They actually sit on legs on the tank side. Just be sure to read customer reviews on any fixture your interested in and be sure it has good reflectors.
 
I'm not trying to go jungle style with it, just enough for some hiding places and to look good...I was looking at the aquarion led fixture and my lfs uses it, but I was wondering what my other options were....and if the red leds were adaquate for plants, as well as their whites, I think its in the 6,500 range which is good right for plants that is...
 
I'm no help with LED's at all... sorry. Plants can use a wide range but IMO 6000K to 10000K is best. The difference is how bright the light is going to look to the human eye. I use 6000K in my metal halides and 6700K in my T5HO's.
 
Thats cool man, im sure if I stay between 6k and 10k it shouldnt really matter if its led or not...i guess they use a few red ones to supplement the ir part of the spectrum....heres a question the kits have slots for 3 lights, but is rated6.5k with one bulb if I add additonal bulbs do I add mmy k's together so 2 6.5k bulbs will make 13k? Or is it output per bulb?
 
No you don't add your K's together. You get exactly what the light rating is.
 
Awsome man...thanks I didn't want to bleach my fish and blind them...lol
 
What kind of plants are you planning on keeping? Do you want to go low maintenance and take the low light / low tech approach? Or do you want moderate to high lighting that's considered high tech with co2 injection?

Lighting temperature (color) is one thing (i.e. 6,500k vs. 10,000k). But you have to take into consideration that aside from color temps based on kelvins, there's intensity based on "PAR VALUE" in lighting.. Not all LED's are created equal so you have to know the PAR value vs. distance to determine the right lighting based on your needs.

Check this out:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=160396

Notice the PAR value ranges:
Values between 10-30 are considered*low*light.Values between 30-80 are considered*medium light.Values between 80-120 are considered*high*light.

If that fixture you're considering doesn't have PAR data available and if you don't have an expensive PAR measuring device, i don't think I would get it. You'd be flying blind and it would be challenging to plan what you'll need for that lighting (i.e. Ferts, co2, etc) or what type of plants it can support.

That's just my 2 cents.
 
Honestly idk enough to name plants to you...I picked up aquarium usa annual magazine at petsmart just to kinda get some pointers and such and they got a list of the top 10 easiest plants, I might stick around that list and when I get further down the road, or on our next tank I might get more advanced with it...for now I use a weekly addative from api and there daily co2 addative....and my plants are in my profile pic. Couldn't even tell you what they are....saw them at the lps and thought they looked cool, but now as I'm learning about everything aquatic I won't be heart broken if they kick the bucket...I'm still learning lol
 
No prob.. That's what we're here for. Sorry to throw all this info about PAR at you... Just didn't want you to get the wrong lighting, which can lead to problems down the road.

It would be helpful if you posted pics of your plants so we can ID them and offer some advice. But since you're new to plants, it's best to start slow with the "low light tolerant plants" (which is also known as the "low tech" route) because it doesn't involve elaborate co2 systems or fertilizers dosing regiments.

Going low light route can be done to create stunning looking planted tanks. It involves simple fertilizer dosing (i.e. Flourish comprehensive) and it's advisable to use a liquid carbon supplement like flourish excel to get optimal growth..

If you're still interested in LED's, check out the Finnex Fugeray. Depending on the height of your tank, it's a great option for a low/medium lit tank.
 
These are my current plants....I belive the ones are carolinas? I've had them and the one behind them for about a month, and the second pic is an idk I looked at so many plants lately the name is escaping my mind...
 

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